Business Development and Grants Manager

The Organisation

Plan International is an independent development and humanitarian organisation that advances children’s rights and equality for girls.

We believe in the power and potential of every child. But this is often suppressed by poverty, violence, exclusion and discrimination. And it’s girls who are most affected.

Working together with children, young people, our supporters and partners, we strive for a just world, tackling the root causes of the challenges facing girls and all vulnerable children.

We support children’s rights from birth until they reach adulthood. And we enable children to prepare for – and respond to – crises and adversity. We drive changes in practice and policy at local, national and global levels using our reach, experience and knowledge.

We have been building powerful partnerships for children for over 85 years, and are now active in more than 75 countries.

The Opportunity

Plan International (PI) has set its purpose in the global strategy for the period of 2023-2027, which focuses on “All Girls Standing Strong Creating Global Change”. PI’s ambition is to be a leader in the global movement for girls’ rights, to work together with the others and take actions so that 100 million girls Learn, Lead, Decide, and Thrive.

Plan International Vietnam has developed the five-year Country Strategy Plan (CSP) for July 2020- June 2025 or FY21-FY25 that has chosen the strategic programmes. In order to achieve the strategic objectives of the CSP and of the Programmes, Plan International Vietnam has also projected the resources required.

The position of Business Development and Grants Manager is required to act as a resource to Plan International Vietnam, National Offices and donors in business development including sourcing grants and, in the management, and reporting of grant-funded programs to improve the lives of children, families and communities following the CSP.

The position is leading a team of 2-3 staff (consisting of Grants Coordinator; Business Development Specialist; and Business Development Officer) to ensure Plan International Vietnam will raise sufficient grants for our programming as projected.

The main dimensions of the role include: • Leadership • Project proposal development • Donor services • Grant management and monitoring • Networking

ACCOUNTABILITIES

Grant Acquisition

• Lead resource mobilisation for programmes by positioning Plan International Vietnam as a partner of choice for donors and support the mobilisation of grant resources required to successfully achieve the CSP objectives. Activities include overseeing all aspects of proposal development processes and the coordination of inputs from various functional departments.
• Work with the Program Quality & Development (PQD) team, Program Impact & Partnerships (PIP) team and Programme Units (field offices) to develop programmatic frameworks and flagship models which can be scaled up and will form the basis for new proposal development for identified donors.
• Revise and implement Plan International Vietnam’s corporate engagement strategy including mapping of potential corporate donors and identifying a mechanism in pursuit of engaging corporates to meet annual funding targets.
• Develop a donor engagement strategy for the 3 Strategic Objectives of the CSP.
• Update and maintain a comprehensive donor mapping and intelligence tracker for external grant opportunities.
• Monitor, analyse and report to senior management and staff on relevant grant information (including new opportunities, fundraising performance, etc.).
• Ensure that all categories of programme costs are considered at the conceptualisation and submission stage of grant preparation, including maintaining the cost recovery principles.

Grants Management

• Build and maintain Plan’s grants management systems to ensure the effective utilisation of funds and improved monitoring and support for programme quality of donor funds.
• Analyse and coordinate existing grant funded programmes and projects to ensure compliance with donor rules and requirements.
• Ensure quality and timeliness of grants reporting to all external donors and National Offices (i.e., Plan fundraising offices).
• Lead the negotiation of partnerships, contracts and grants to ensure that favorable conditions exist to maximise support for project participants.
• Work with the Finance team and PIP team to ensure the effective utilisation of grants monitoring systems in terms of projections and forecasting, the monitoring of expenditure, negotiations with donors for budget modifications and completion of project reports.

Networks and Strategic Relationships

• Represent Plan International Vietnam on business development and grant matters, representing the interests of Plan International Vietnam to National Offices, donor organisations, partners and other stakeholders.
• Pursue a level of donor engagement that establishes a direct relationship with Plan International Vietnam and the donor so as to align their sustainable strategies with Plan International Vietnam to identify win-win opportunities.
• Develop, manage and maintain strategic partnerships with local actors, including bilateral / institutional, multilaterals, foundations, corporate donors and external networks. Manage the link between Programme Units, donors and external networks.
• Develop and maintain a strong and professional image of Plan International Vietnam so that the agency is seen as a partner of choice for relevant donors.
• Strengthen the multi-country/ regional level on resource mobilization Human Resources and Leadership
• Provide leadership and coaching support to the Business Development Unit to optimise job performance and inspire talent.
• Manage team of Business Development Unit: conduct staff performance appraisals, nurturing and developing staff for succession planning.
• Co-ordinate with the HR&OD manager to strengthen the capacity of staff in building donor relations, generating resources (technical, funding, material) and managing/reporting on grant-funded programmes and projects.

KEY RELATIONSHIPS

Internal relationship

• With the PQD technical leads, Programme Impact & Partnerships and Programme Units (PUs) for designing full project proposals
• With Programme Impact & Partnerships team to support them in grant management External relationship
• With National Offices
• With partner Country Offices (CO) on joint multi-country proposals / projects
• With institutional and corporate donors
• With the APAC Corporate Partnerships Manager
• With key non-governmental organisations (NGOs), UN-agencies for shared learning, leveraging joint interventions in development sector
• With networks, such as: NGO Resource Center, Chambers of Commerce

TECHNICAL EXPERTISE, SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGE

Essential

• Five years of professional experience of which at least three should have been spent in a senior position in the development sector Substantial experience in the NGO sector
• Demonstrated success in reporting requirements of grant funded projects and programmes.
• Experience in coaching, training and facilitation.
• Experience of working with children and communities and managing child-related program and projects would be an advantage.
• Experience working in Vietnam or similar country context, preferred.

Competencies

• Excellent level of English, both oral and written
• Conceptual and analytical skills to systematically monitor and identify funding opportunities, assess their alignment with PIV’s Country Strategy and quality income standards and understand and communicate application requirements to all relevant teams
• High skills in coordinating and writing project proposals and obtaining grant funding for development projects from a variety of institutional donors and corporates
• Strategic skills and experience in working with corporate partners to lead the revision and implementation of a private sector engagement strategy
• Having negotiation skills at an advanced level for contracts and compliance requirements with donors and NOs
• Able to effectively solve problems
• Able to communicate information and ideas clearly and articulately both in oral and written form Strong interpersonal skills, and clear and effective communication that builds relationships in order to influence others with a diverse range of audiences, including CO staff, NOs in the PII federation, donors and partners
• Marketing skills
• High level of computer proficiency
• Public relations and representation skills at an advanced level
• Ability to build and manage a team Ability to work on multiple tas